Have you ever purchased a bag of spinach or a bunch of kale, only to watch it be gooey and wilted a few days later? This happens quite frequently and it can be very frustrating, especially with rising food prices. Although you can make kale chips and spinach salads, you may not use all of the greens before they go bad. This is why freezing your greens is a great way to preserve them.
Why Should You Freeze Your Greens?
Even if you make green smoothies several times a week, you may not always finish your greens in time. By freezing your greens, you can green smoothies whenever you want without the fear of needing to use them before expiration. Plus, freezing greens means that you may not have to freeze other items that go into green smoothies. Since you already have the frozen element, all you need is the other fruits and liquid.
Freezing greens really only applies if you buy your greens in large quantities that you have a hard time finishing. Most people can easily finish a small bundle of spinach or kale before it even thinks about wilting. If you purchase greens at big bulk stores like Sam’s Club or Costco, you may want to use the following tips.
Pay Attention To When Greens Start To Go Bad
You don’t want to wait until the last minute to freeze your greens. If you freeze greens that have already started to go bad, your smoothies will taste foul. When you notice a slight sign of wilting or yellowing, that’s the time to place them in the freezer. Now, you can separate them into small sandwich bags, or you can blend greens with a little water, and pour the blended mixture into ice cube molds.
How To Freeze Kale
Before you add the kale to the blender, make sure that you remove the thick stems because they are very fibrous and bitter. Rinse the kale leaves and then portion them out into small bags, or add them to a blender with a small amount of water. Just remember to use as little liquid as possible when blending kale. Start with a few tablespoons of water and then add more if necessary. A few tablespoons should be sufficient for a couple handfuls of kale.
Step-By-Step Instructions
The best way to freeze either kale or spinach for smoothies is to blend them with a small amount of water and pour them into ice cube molds. Then you have little frozen cubes of green goodness. No need to freeze any other smoothie ingredient when you have green cubes! You just pop them out of the ice cube molds and into the blender when you want to make a smoothie. Read on for a full step-by-step guide.
- Wash, dry, and remove any leaves from thicker stems (less important with spinach).
- Add a couple handfuls of the greens to a blender, along with a couple tablespoons of water.
- Blend on high until you achieve a smooth consistency. You may need to add more water and greens to use all of them.
- Pour the blended mixture into ice cube molds and place in the freezer until frozen.
- Pop a few cubes out of the molds and add them to the blender when you want to make a smoothie. Enjoy!
Now, if you don’t want to make little nutritious green cubes, you can add greens to a bag with other smoothie ingredients. Those are what you call “make ahead smoothie bags.” You can click here for a guide on how to properly execute those smoothie bags, which can be very convenient for people who need to save time.
